CLIPS FALTER LATE, SEE HOME WIN STREAK MAGICALLY END

LOS ANGELES 
Despite Orlando’s 10-game skid, the Los Angeles Clippers were leery of the Magic, labeling them “dangerous” because of recent performances against playoff teams.

Against the New York Knicks, Miami Heat, Portland Trail Blazers and Denver Nuggets, the Magic held late fourth-quarter leads but weren’t able to sustain any of them.

Eventually, something or someone would give.

Luckily for the Magic, the Clippers (28-9) were feeling generous Saturday.

Orlando (13-23) clawed back from an eight-point fourth quarter deficit to defeat the Clippers 104-101 at the Staples Center. Nikola Vucevic’s layup put the Magic up three with eight seconds remaining, which sealed it.

“It was kind of the play, but it kind of got muffed, so we were trying to make the best out of the situation,” said Jamal Crawford, whose game-tying 3-point attempt clanked off the rim as time expired.

The loss halted Los Angeles’ franchise-record home-winning streak at 13 games and places them a half-game behind the Oklahoma City Thunder for the league’s best record and the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.

It’s a minor bump in the road for a team with NBA Finals aspirations that has won 20 of its last 23 games overall.

“An embarrassing performance for us today. We got what we deserved,” said Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro.

“We got outworked in every aspect, second-chance points, rebounding. We let them hang around and then Afflalo and Redick hit some shots.”

Orlando (13-23) curbed its free fall. The victory ended the team’s longest skid since the 2003-04 season when it dropped 13 consecutive overall.

Blown opportunities in fourth quarters. The injury bug. Defensive woes. Absence of an elite scorer. All of those factors, at one point or another, contributed to the pile of defeats during that span, according to Orlando coach Jacque Vaughn.

However, the Magic finally were able to close out a game, something that’s eluded them lately. Redick sank a fade away 3-pointer with 42 seconds left and the Magic held on for once.

“Seven of our last 10 games have all been one-possession games at one point or another in the last minute, and we just haven’t had the ball bounce our way,” Redick said. “The law of averages worked out, and we just got the ball to bounce our way.”

Going forward, Griffin wants to see more effort, particularly down the stretch with games against Memphis and Houston on the schedule.

“This was a bad loss. It doesn’t sit well at all,” Griffin said.

“We have to do a better job at the end. We have to get back to what made us successful and what got us here to this point. That was our defensive intensity and everybody contributing.”

Said Vaughn: “The biggest thing we talked about in the locker room, was that it was going to take 48 minutes. That’s been the learning process for us. Tonight, we were good for 48 minutes.”